


Guard You, Guide You

by echomoon



Category: Baby Driver (2017)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, F/M, M/M, Multi, Road Trips, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, descriptions of panic attacks, eventual OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-12-02 19:53:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11516280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echomoon/pseuds/echomoon
Summary: In a world where the night before the heist goes differently, Baby, Buddy, and Darling go into hiding together and come out the other side closer than anyone expected.





	1. Cherry - Chromatics

**Author's Note:**

> title from All I Ask Of You  
> shoutout to missabigailhobbs for the beta and the title

The crew walks into the planning room in a line: Bats leading the charge with swagger, Darling nursing her shot arm, Buddy hovering beside her, Baby brooding in the back. Bats and Buddy are carrying bags loaded with guns.

“Bananas.” Doc says in that hard as rocks voice of his, the lights flickering on row by row. “Bananas is a code word. Whenever a deal is done with one of my clients, they call me on the phone, and then they say the word ‘bananas’ and hang up.”

Bats drops his bags.

“I did not hear the word, bananas, tonight. So you tell me who died.”

“Well your contacts was cops, Doc.” Bats says.

“I know. They were _my_ cops.”

“Yeah, well they fired first. And I’m not gonna take a bullet for you or nobody else in this motherfucker.”

“Is that true, they fired first?” Doc asks Buddy and Darling.

“...Yeah.” Buddy says quickly, like he can’t believe he’s saying it. Baby stares at him.

Doc stands up, approaches Bats. Without taking his eyes off of him, he asks, ”Baby?”

“Ask somebody on planet earth.” Bats spits out. They stare each other down.

“I will ask who-” Doc is interrupted by a gunshot.

Bats’ body thuds to the floor, leaking red. Blood.

Baby looks away, pulls out his earbuds so he can keep track of what’s happening.

Darling lowers her gun. Defensively, she says “What? He was a lying sack of shit who got me shot. He started the fight, he gets a bullet.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Doc sighs, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his face. “Alright, we are 24 hours away from being descended upon by this entire city. Job’s off. Scatter and lay low until I contact you again. Baby, that means you as well. Go wait in the hallway, I’ll be out to talk to you in a minute.”

Baby leaves the room shuffling his feet, in shock from the death and still sore over the diner. He can hear, however faintly over the ringing, Doc ordering Buddy and Darling to clean up the body, lecturing them on shooting people in front of him. He wonders if he’s going to have to sunset this body too - if so, he should probably use a different junkyard just in case. He spaces out thinking about potential routes, doesn’t notice Doc finally coming out to talk to him until he lays a hand on Baby’s shoulder. Once upon a time Baby would’ve found the gesture somewhat comforting, but now his resentment towards the man is through the roof.

“So, Baby. Anywhere in particular you want to go?”

“Go?” Baby replies.

“Don’t answer my question with a question. You think you’re exempt from going to ground? I’m not going to have my best driver arrested because he was too stupid to leave town.”

Baby just stares. Leave town? His mind jumps to Debora, to hitting the road, and without thinking he says, “Can I bring - “ before stopping short. Doc knows about Debora but that doesn’t mean Baby should give him an opportunity to get his claws into her.

“Joe?” Doc assumes. “Of course not, Baby. I’ve already set him up a place in a fantastic nursing home. One a little on the expensive side, sure, but with your job it won’t be a problem at all to keep payments up. I’ll cover it while you’re in hiding, of course - but don’t worry, it won’t take more than one job for you to pay off that debt.”

Baby’s heart sinks. He hadn’t thought of Joseph just yet, he had been focused on getting to Debora first. Sure, he had a plan for him, just in case things ever went sour, but he doubted Doc was talking about the same place.

“I - I’ve got a place for him to go already.” Baby says softly, not looking Doc in the eyes, staring at the grey wall behind his head instead.

“What, Holiday Villa? You’re really going to let the man who raised you rot in some third-rate shithole where they’ll check on him once a day and feed him slop? I must’ve misjudged you, Baby, I thought you cared more than that.”

Baby looks up angrily, the protest on his lips stopped by Doc’s smirking face. Doc is riling Baby up on purpose. Baby sags in defeat.

“Good. Now, I suggest you give that little girlfriend of yours a call. Tell her, I don’t know, that you’ve got a job out of state and won’t be back for a while.” Doc is still smirking. “What, you didn’t think you would be able to bring _her_ , did you? What are you going to tell her, that you’re a wanted criminal on the run from the police and would she pretty please like to join you? A sweet girl like that would run away with her tail between her legs, Baby, and you know it.”

Baby shuffles over to the stairwell, brooding. He pulls out his burner, punching in the number for the diner slowly, trying to figure out what to say to Debora. An apology, first, but then what? What Doc said? Tell her to meet up anyway? Tell her the truth?

“Bo’s Diner, what’ll you have.” Debora’s boss answers.

“Is Debora there?” Baby replies. He hears the man sigh and yell for her, then shuffling as the phone switches hands.

“Hello?” Debora answers. Her voice sounds strange, like her nose is stuffed up.

“It’s Baby,” he starts. What does he say next?

“Oh. Baby, what _was_ all that? Why did your friend say you didn’t like it here? What’s going on?” Her voice goes all wobbly by the end.

“I’m sorry, Debora. They weren’t my friends. I - I was trying to protect you.” He squeezes his eyes shut, not sure if what he’s saying is okay, not sure what to say next.

“Baby, why would you need to _protect_ me? Who were those people?”

“I can’t tell you that. Don’t. Don’t wait for me tonight. I have to go away for a while.”

“ _Why_? No, let me guess - you can’t tell me.” Oh, now she sounds angry. Baby feels his eyes start to water. He says nothing.

Debora sighs. “Baby, I - whatever’s going on, I hope you stay safe, but until you’re ready to tell me the truth, since apparently you haven’t been, I don’t think I wanna be a part of your life.”

“Debora - “ Baby starts; he’s not sure what he’s supposed to say to that. He’s told her everything he can. Maybe it’s better this way - if he kept hanging around her, no matter how happy she made him, he was going to corrupt her, or get her hurt.

“I have to go back to work, Baby. Goodbye.” she says sadly. Baby’s left with nothing but the dial tone.

He stands in that stairwell, trying to stifle his tears, for a long while. The ringing in his ears gets overwhelming, and that’s what forces him to leave - he left his iPod in the other room. He wipes his face with his jacket sleeve and makes his way back to the room like a zombie. He passes Buddy in the hallway, who’s dragging away Bats’ body in a tarp. He gets a weird look from the man.

“Good, you’re back.” Doc says as he enters. He can barely hear him over the ringing. “Everything settled?”

Baby half nods as he picks up his iPod. He puts in his earbuds and just presses shuffle, not even caring what plays as long as it’s noise. Doc is snapping for his attention, so he obediently looks up, wishing he had sunglasses to hide his probably puffy eyes.

“Have you chosen a location? Price doesn’t matter, you can pay me back easily enough later.”

“Don’t care.” Baby says emotionlessly. A hand rests lightly on his shoulder. He looks at it and sees a baby pink manicure - Darling. He pulls out an earbud.

“- can take him.” she finishes.

Doc sighs. “Baby, do you want to go hide out with Buddy and Darling? They’re… trustworthy enough to protect you, I suppose. Or you can stick with me.”

Baby stares blankly. What kind of a question is that? Stay with two criminals - albeit the nicest ones out of all the crews Baby’s worked with - or stay with the man who manipulated him into a life of crime? Or what, go off on his own? Baby doubted Doc would go with the last option, since he seemed to intent on protecting his investment.

“C’mon, Baby, it’ll be fun. Hit the road with me and Buddy, living the fun life, forget all your troubles. We’ll take care of you.” Darling winks at him, caressing his cheek.

“Fine.” Baby says, surprising even himself.

“Fine?” Doc raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I’ll go with them.”

Darling grins brightly, kisses his cheek. “Oh, Baby, we’re gonna have so much fun!”


	2. In The City - Chromatics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to missabigailhobbs for the beta and mozart_in_a_gokart for letting me bounce ideas  
> double shoutout to everyone who commented last chapter, i love you all so very much
> 
> to anyone who read this before 7/27: i hecked up with the timeline and decided to fix it by removing the last line of this chapter, which told you where they were going, and changing a few other lines regarding road names, and will continue to fix it in the next chapter. sorry about this, geography is not my strong point and the map maker i used confused me lol.

Buddy drives them out of town - they make quick stops at the couple’s safehouse in town, mainly to pick up their gun and drug stashes, and then at Baby’s so he can pack his things and say goodbye to Joseph. Baby isn’t expecting this trip to go smoothly, given that its purpose was to hide three wanted criminals from the police, so he isn’t surprised that the first sign of trouble is so early on: Darling insists on sitting shotgun once they’re ready to hit the road proper.

 

The others wouldn’t know Baby has an issue with this; they may know about his accident now, thanks to Doc being a little backstory-happy with Bats, but they don’t know the full extent of anything. It’s been a long while since Baby last tried to sit in the back seat of a car so he thinks that maybe he’ll be able to handle it this time. After all, the last time he had tried was years ago, when he was still fairly fresh from the accident. He doesn’t want to cause a problem so soon into this, especially when he doesn’t know how long they’ll be holed up together, so he grits his teeth and slides into the backseat, nervously bouncing his knees once he’s sitting. He keeps his eyes shut, hands clenched; he sits behind the driver’s seat instead of the very middle in hopes that it helps. His heart jumps at the sound of the car starting, at the lurch of movement. His whole body is tense while he waits as they go out to the highway, willing himself to stay calm. Miraculously, it works - he’s anxious, but not fully panicked. He lets himself relax and unwind. He opens his eyes and watches the city limits pass by, telling himself that things will be fine.

 

And it is fine, at first. Baby’s leaning his head against the window, earbuds in, watching the road go by. He has to look away whenever they pass a big semi truck to calm his jitters, but it's fine. A little panic is normal. They’ve been driving west for hours, bordering on sunrise. Darling’s asleep in the front seat, curled up sideways and using her pink fur jacket as a pillow. Baby is lulled to sleep by the blurry scenery and the low hum of the engine.

 

* * *

 

The next issue starts with this: at some point, Buddy and Darling had switched places. This is perfectly normal - after all, they had all been up all night and eventually Buddy would need to get some sleep. The transition hadn’t woken Baby up, even though he’s normally a bit of a light sleeper, but Darling slamming the brakes and the wail of multiple sirens does the job. Baby’s up like a shot, sleepy brain insisting the noise is for them, even though they should have another twelve hours yet before the police are even aware of the concept of them, but they’re just inching slowly through a traffic jam.

 

The noise is abysmal, the pace absurdly slow,  especially to Baby’s fast paced sensibilities, and Baby’s anxiety isn’t helped by the fact that the car in front of them is a semi truck. His brain is still waking up; he realizes too late that the traffic jam is because of a horrific car crash, too late to close his eyes, and the second he sees the gory remains of the accident, he’s paralyzed. It’s not that he hasn’t seen car accidents since his own - hell, he’s caused quite a few minor ones - but there’s a difference between driving past one quickly while in control of the car and being stuck next to a violent one in a sick facsimile of the situation that led to his own. The scene in front of him keeps intercutting with his memories, his heart beating overtime. He realizes that he’s started hyperventilating; by the time they pass the edge of it all he’s letting out full sobs.

 

When they finally move out of range of the accident, sirens a faint whisper in the background, Baby’s taut body spasms, and he’s suddenly able to move again. He lets out a choked noise and slides down off the seat, into the well behind the front seats. It’s a tight, uncomfortable fit, but the pressure is calming. The movement and noise catch Darling’s attention.

 

“Oh, Baby, are you awake?” she asks in a tired voice, twisting to look at him. “Do you want to - holy shit, whats wrong?!”

 

“I’m okay,” Baby tries to say, even though he is only sort of making his way to that status. He’s not really sure if the words actually came out or not. He wiggles around for a second, trying to free his arm to give her a thumbs up in hopes that she’ll take that as an ‘okay’, but she must not be looking by the time he manages it because the next thing he hears in a few dull thumps and Darling saying,

 

“Jason, wake! Up! There’s something wrong with Baby!”

 

The car pulls to a stop, the front doors opening and closing, sending reverberations through the chassis. The door closest to his head opens.

 

“Uh, you okay, kid?” Buddy asks gruffly, sleep making his rough voice even rougher. Baby lifts his free hand up flat and tilts it side to side in a ‘sort of’.

 

“Okay… you wanna get outta the car for a few?” Baby makes a thumbs down. He isn’t feeling safe enough to leave the tiny space just yet, even if the idea of stretching his legs is a nice one.

 

“You sure?” Thumbs up. “Well, if you say so.” There’s a quick ruffle of a hand through his hair.

 

They get back on the road and Baby ends up staying down in the footwell until his iPod dies, at least a few hours later. His muscles protest as he pulls himself back up to get a new one out of his bag. When he pops up, Buddy is driving again.

 

“Feelin’ better, Baby?” the man asks.

 

Baby shrugs in response, but decides to stay sitting up. He feels calmer, at least. It’s bright out now, early morning sun shining behind them.

 

A little while later, wincing at how dry his throat is, he croaks out, “Can I drive next?”

 

Buddy lets out a short laugh. “Sure, kid. Mon wants to stretch her legs anyway.”

 

Darling, legs up on the dashboard, hits his arm lightly. “No names in front of the kid.”

 

Buddy laughs again. “Too late for that. Besides, Doc ain’t here to stop us.” he reaches out and runs his hands over her bare thighs. Baby looks away.

 

When he’s finally behind the wheel again, Baby feels a hell of a lot more put together.

 

* * *

 

 

The directions Buddy gives Baby, since they won’t tell him where they’re going, are ‘head straight ‘til US-78’, which isn’t for another few hours out. Baby doesn’t mind - the long stretches of empty road mean he can go as fast as he wants, do whatever tricks he wants when he occasionally gets the urge, though after the second one Buddy asks him to stop and just drive. Part way through, Buddy had moved to the back seat to join Darling . Every time Baby glanced at the front mirror to look at them, they were making out. It had been at least an hour.

 

So Baby isn’t all that surprised when Buddy lets out a low groan, then so quietly Baby can barely hear it, in a gruff warning tone, says, “Darling….”

 

Darling laughs, clear and bright. Baby glances into the mirror to see her slender hands working Buddy’s jeans open, Buddy’s hands up her shirt.

 

“Baby don’t mind, do ya honey?” she says with a sultry wink, fully aware that Baby is looking at them. Baby blushes and looks back out to the road. Darling just laughs again, and when the laughs become moans Baby just turns the music up louder.

 

He keeps it loud until Darling snakes her hand onto his shoulder, puts her face right up next to his and kisses his cheek. It surprises him enough that he swerves a little. When she pulls away, she takes an earbud with her.

 

“You can turn your noise down now, Baby.” she drawls. “Did you enjoy the show?”

 

“Wasn’t lookin’.” Baby says stiffly, thinking of the few glances he did manage to grab, however accidently, of the couple interlocked. Debora had been his only experience with anything sexual, besides crude mentions from crews and schoolmates when he had actually gone to school, so he wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about, but the couple sure were pretty to look at doing that sort of thing.

 

“Mmm, pity.” Darling hums, pursing her lips. They looked extra red and full now. “Anyway, pull over before that exit Buddy told ya’bout, he’ll take over from there.”

 

“Will I, now?” Buddy pipes up from where he’s been lounging in the back. Baby notices his lips looking brighter as well. They both bright everywhere, if a little sweaty.

 

“Mhm.” she replies, flopping back against the seat and Buddy.

 

And when they switch, Baby moves to the passenger seat. Darling decides to drape herself over the back of his seat, stealing an earbud and occasionally singing along to his music when she recognizes a song. Baby tries to ignore her, especially the warmth of her occasional touches, and keeps himself occupied by keeping an eye on the signs they pass to try and figure out where they're heading.


	3. Killer Queen - Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends! sorry this took so long to get out, life is life. good news: the next chapter is already finished and will be out either in around a week or when i finish ch 5. also, chapters 4 and 5 will be a lot longer than previous chapters, so theres that!
> 
> a few important notes:  
> 1\. all references to las vegas in the last chapter were removed - i hecked up the travel timeline (geography is not my discipline). only a few lines were edited and they only mentioned the location so its nbd to not go back and reread or whatever  
> 2\. chapter titles! ive been working on a soundtrack for the fic and retroactively went back to add the song of the chapter as the title. when the fic is done i will psot the whole playlsit, available for download and stuff.  
> 3\. sorry not sorry but this fic is gonna be a fuck of a lot more slow burn than originally intended
> 
> this chapter is dedicated to missabigailhobbs, my most excellent beta (check out her stuff, she does baby/doc fic) and everyone who commented last chapter, i seriously love you all so much

A few hours of driving pass with Darling alternating between singing along to Baby’s music and talking to Buddy. Eventually, Buddy turns to Baby and asks, “Does the music thing only work with headphones or do speakers work too?”

 

“What? Um… speakers are fine. It needs to be kind of loud, though.” Baby replies, bewildered by the abrupt question. It’s the most words he’s said to them, probably ever.

 

“Great. Pass it over.” Buddy says, holding out a hand and wiggling his fingers. Then, at Baby’s bewildered look, clarifies, “the iPod.”

 

Once it’s in his possession, Buddy plugs it in and starts playing a ‘Best of Queen’ album. Baby remembers the conversation they had once had in the warehouse about Queen and smiles out the window.

 

“Turn it however loud you need it.” Buddy says to him.

 

“Just not loud enough to make _us_ go deaf, yeah?” Darling drawls from behind him.

 

Baby rolls his eyes while he turns the volume up to 27, then stares straight ahead, face blank. It’s a good song, though anything by Queen is so Buddy clearly isn’t playing fair; he’s getting the urge to start dancing in his seat, but he just isn’t sure about doing it in front of Buddy and Darling. They barely know each other, even if they have sort of bonded enough for Baby to feel more comfortable going on this road trip with them than staying with Doc. Not that that’s saying much.

 

But Buddy and Darling don’t seem to have that issue - Darling’s singing along again, though a little off tune in an enthusiastic if not technically perfect sort of way, Buddy playacting the lyrics. Halfway through the song, Buddy lightly swats Baby on the arm.

 

“Lighten up, Baby, have some fun.” he says.

 

Baby just smiles a little, shakes his head a few times, but when the next song rolls around both of the others are fully absorbed in their performance, occasionally grabbing one of Baby’s arms to use as a prop, or leaning in towards his face to sing the lyrics right at him in Darling’s case, and Baby can’t help but be pulled in by their exuberance and the beat of the music. They aren’t acting like ruthless criminals, they’re acting like dorks who want Baby’s attention, and it’s endearing. When the next song starts he very dramatically turns towards Buddy, emotionless, and right as the words start he bursts into motion. The couple burst into laughter, cheer him on.

 

The trio continue their fun until their next rest stop a little while later, and after they stretch their legs they settle down a little but they don’t stop singing along when the mood catches them.

* * *

 

When the sun begins to set, Buddy decides they should stop for the night. They’re passing through the top of Texas, and there isn’t a whole lot around so they stop at the first motel they see, despite its battered appearance. There’s a light on in the lobby, so it isn’t abandoned, but it’s very tiny and shares its parking lot with a similarly run down Waffle House. It’s named after some sort of flower.

 

Inside, the lobby is plain and sparsely decorated, but it isn’t falling apart or covered in mildew, which bodes well for the rooms. Buddy makes small talk with the concierge while he checks in, spinning a yarn about a family road trip to the north. The lady looks too tired to fully give a shit, but Baby supposes it lays good groundwork on keeping them safe if cops come through looking for them. Baby’s a bit miffed that Buddy’s trying to pass him off as a teenager, but it makes sense.

 

When they get to the room, which is decorated with the bare minimum of what a hotel room should have and looks to be at least passably clean, save the crusty carpet that looks like it’s been there for way too long and is now matted down to the floor. It’s not the worst place ever to spend the night, so Baby sits down on the bed furthest from the windows.

 

“What time are we leaving?” he asks, watching the other two unpack a few small weapons and hide them around the room. He can set up a playlist to run until when he needs to be up - he’s a light sleeper, and once the music stops the ringing will wake him up.

 

“Lady said checkout was 10, so right before that?” Buddy shrugs, then turns to Darling. “You think we need watch?”

 

“No, we’ll be good. This is Bumfuck, Nowhere.” Darling replies, lounging on the bed. “You think there’s a grocery store anywhere near by? I don’t trust that restaurant next door.”

 

“What does the internet say?”

 

They wait about 7 minutes for the page to load, Darling impatiently lolling her head back and forth and Buddy leaning against the dresser. Baby spends the time unpacking some of his iPods and chargers.

 

“Aha! Internet says yes.” Darling cries out, shoving the screen out so Buddy can see it. “And they’re still open for another hour.”

 

“Great. Who wants to do a grocery run?” Buddy asks.

 

“Nose goes!” Darling says quickly, swiftly lifting her finger to her nose, then nudging Baby, who’s kneeling on the floor between their beds, wrestling with the plugs behind the bedside table.

 

“What?” Baby asks, looking up at her, having missed most of the conversation.

 

“Nose goes.” She says, tapping her nose.

 

“Oh...kay?.” He says, bewildered, and puts his finger on his nose.

 

Buddy, who has been watching the whole thing with an exasperated expression, lets out a loud sigh as he gets up. As he heads out the door, he says, muttering the last part, “Text me what you want, you fucking children.”

 

Darling winks at Baby.

 

* * *

 

It takes about 15 minutes of laying under the covers for Baby to realize that the itchiness of his skin isn’t nerves mixed with an unfamiliar place - he’s used to his skin crawling in new places - but is instead being caused by something literally crawling on his skin. Which means the occasional feeling of being bitten isn’t his brain making things up in response to the skin-crawling, another thing that would occasionally happen. He tiptoes into the bathroom to check his skin, finds red bites along his skin.His bed has bugs.

 

He stands in the middle of the dark room, trying to figure out what to do. There’s no way he’s going to sleep on the bed, and definitely not that disgusting floor - he had kept his socks on, not wanting to let his bare feet touch it. There’s some barely cushioned wooden chairs by the window that will have to do. They’re uncomfortable, but he pulls his legs up and turns sideways a bit to rest his head against the wall. He’s going to end up with a crick in his neck, but he doesn’t want to use one of his bed’s pillows. Baby knows he isn’t going to sleep well like this; no one had said who would drive first in the morning, and he decided that he was not, for once, going to volunteer, but take a nap instead. Maybe he’ll go ahead and try to stretch out in the back seat. Doubtful, but maybe.

 

There’s movement in the darkness - Buddy, sitting up, reaching towards Baby. Startled and wide eyed, Baby tried to shrink back, but the chair is close enough to the bed that Buddy barely has to reach to clamp on to his leg.

 

“Baby,” Buddy says gruffly, voice extra thick with sleep. “You are thinking too damn loud. What’s going on?”

 

_Bedbugs_ , Baby signs, but realizes his mistake halfway through. He says it again, but out loud.

 

“Egh,” Buddy replies. “And you’re trying to sleep in the chair?”

 

“Clearly,” Baby says dryly.

 

They sit in silence for a moment. Buddy breaks it by shifting to the very edge of the bed, pulling Darling over to him - she grumbles, but just cuddles into him. It leaves a free space, barely big enough for another person, on the other side of the bed.

 

“Get in,” Buddy says gruffly, already laying back down. Baby just stares, long enough for Buddy to grumble, “Seriously, Baby, just get in the bed.”

 

He’s uncomfortable with the idea, but would rather sleep cramped up in a bed then cramped up in a chair. As Baby moves to get into the bed, all he can think about is how fucking absurd his life is sometimes.

 

It’s weirdly comfortable to sleep next to someone - well, two someones. Baby falls asleep easily.

 

* * *

 

  
When he wakes up, Darling is curled into _him_ instead of Buddy, who’s facing the other direction and doesn’t show any sign of giving a shit. Baby extracts himself carefully from the woman’s tight grasp, and tries to pretend he doesn’t miss the embrace as he gets ready for the day, even though they still have a few hours before they need to get up. Baby just hopes Buddy doesn’t find out about Darling clinging to him. He prefers to keep living.


	4. Bulletproof (La Roux) vs. Release Me (Agnes) - The Outfit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends! as promised the new chapter is here! plz enjoy!

They start a driving rotation of Baby, Buddy, Darling and back. Buddy’s grocery run had ended up being mostly snack foods, with the exception of an entire loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter, which was apparently supposed to suffice for their main meals, so they only stop make a couple of stops before sundown for bathroom breaks and to stretch their legs. Even when on the run, Darling insists on comfort over non stop driving. She does a small routine of yoga-like stretches at each stop, which Baby is curious enough about that he’s considering joining her on the next stop like she keeps bugging him and Buddy to. 

 

Darling is currently driving. Baby is wondering if they’re going to be stopping for the night again while trying to spread peanut butter on a slice of bread using his fingers, something that is made extraordinarily difficult by the number of potholes in the road. They had driven almost 17 hours the first night, but it’s only been about 7 hours so far today. The music is playing over the car speakers again, but there’s less jovial playing around; not so much a shift in tone as a shift in energy. It’s as if their performances the day before were to provoke something, prove something, and now that it had been done it was no longer needed. Darling still sang along to the music when it caught her fancy, Baby hummed and bobbed his head, Buddy tapping his fingers against the steering wheel or the door, but nothing more than that. Everything felt more in sync, somehow. Darling keeps driving.

* * *

 

When it’s Baby’s turn to drive again, Darling moves to the backseat instead of the passenger seat. Baby’s hunch that it’s to spend time making out with Buddy is confirmed almost immediately. It’s kind of astounding how long they spend doing that. Baby drives for almost an hour before they stop. Of course, they stop to move on to something else.

 

When Darling pulls away from Buddy, he makes a disappointed noise.

 

“Hey,” she says, leaning back and tilting her head. “Who here wants a blowjob?”

 

“Yes,” Buddy replies, as if she was only asking him.

 

A second later, Baby says, “What the  _ hell _ .” 

 

Why was she acting like this was a normal thing to ask people?

 

“Sorry, Babes, looks like Buddy wins.” Darling says as the couple rearrange themselves in a position that is apparently more blowjob friendly.

 

“Why do you keep  _ doing _ this?” Baby asks, weirdly not as irritated as he could be at the fact that they are doing sex things while he’s driving,  _ again _ . Then again, he’s used to brushing off criminals’ behavior, maybe his brain is counting their weird affinity for car sex as part of that. 

 

“I think the clinical term is nympho,” Buddy muses, then bites back a groan. Baby’s eyes flicker to the mirror to see Darling’s head around the area of Buddy’s crotch. Shit. He fixes his eyes back on the road, turns the music up louder. Darling’s laugh melts into the music.

 

Baby isn’t sure how long blowjobs are supposed to last, but a few songs in, Darling’s legs fly up into the air. He glances in the mirror again to see that they’ve switched positions. One of Darling’s arms splay out, resting against the edge of his seat. Her fingers brush against his neck every once in awhile, giving Baby a strange sensation. 

 

He glances back at the couple more often than he’d care to admit, on purpose this time.

 

* * *

 

This time Darling doesn’t lean up on him when they’re finished. Instead, seemingly aware of his glances, she makes eye contact with him in the mirror and winks. Both of the couple are mussed up, though Darling seems to have the worst of it. Her clothes are wrinkled, out of place; the skirt riding up much higher than it should be, not that that’s saying much for how it looked before, and her top is still unbuttoned enough to show her bra and part of her stomach. Her skin looks just as soft there as it does everywhere else, but something about the sight makes Baby’s jaw drop just a little. He looks away from her with a blush, eyes flickering to the road then back in the mirror, focusing on Buddy this time. He’s got his arm over his eyes, head back against the seat, slouching with his legs open, which makes the open zipper at his crotch even more visible, revealing the skin of his lower stomach and part of his happy trail. His shirt is covering most of him, besides that. There’s a buzzing feeling at the back of Baby’s neck. He looks away again, tries not to think about the flushed, shiny skin of the couple, or the way the car now smells like sex.

 

Darling leans forward, lightly tapping the bottom of his jaw until he closes it, saying, “You’re gonna catch flies, honey.”

 

Baby wants to set himself on fire. He certainly already feels the part.

 

“It’s almost time to switch.” he says instead.

 

They only stop long enough to switch seats.

 

* * *

 

Buddy is the most rational driver out of the three of them, which is good once the roads start getting busy again, once they get within the radius of Las Vegas, where they are apparently stopping for the night.

 

Baby’s kind of glad he isn’t the one driving, because instead he gets to drink in the city as it flashes by. It’s nearing on one in the morning but the city is bustling, bright and busy, distractions at every turn. He takes a moment to flip through his music, tries to find something to match the mood.

 

Buddy drives them into the parking lot of a hotel that looks just as dazzlingly rich as the ones they had passed. Before they head in, he rifles through one of his bags and pulls out two fake ID’s, one of him and one of Darling. He turns towards Baby.

 

“Sorry kid, don’t have one for you. We can get one made?” He looks at Darling, who nods, then continues, “You got your regular ID? Shouldn’t need it, but better safe than sorry.”

 

Baby checks his pockets, than his backpack, and finds his wallet in one of the side pockets. He shows the ID inside to Buddy. It’s one that Doc had gotten made for him, that says Baby is his birth name; it was one of the only favors he had ever asked from Doc, since the name was the only one he responded to anymore. He was almost glad Doc had chosen that as his code name, so much so that when Doc had given him the option to change it when he’d gotten older, Baby turned him down.

 

“Why’s Doc let you use your real name for jobs?” Darling asks as they head up to the front doors of the hotel. She and Baby wait outside while Buddy goes in to get the room.

 

“Does it sound like a real name?” Baby asks in reply. He thinks the confusion people have at his name is hilarious, one of the little joys this life of crime had brought him.

 

Darling just hums in response and turns towards one of the windows, which are so dark and glossy they’re like perfect mirrors. Baby doesn’t feel the need to talk to pass the time, and after that single question Darling doesn’t seem to feel the need to either. Baby watches her use the window to reapply her lipstick. That bright, spit-slick look her lips had had earlier had faded, leaving them her natural color, but Baby is still for some reason sad to see her cover them up with the matte purple-red lipstick. It’s a good color on her, dark and stereotypically seductive, but Baby prefers the rosy pink. 

 

Not that he has opinions on her lips. He shakes his head, trying to change his train of thought. But thinking of Darling’s lips makes Baby think about how ravenously she and Buddy kissed, every time. Baby had only ever kissed Debora, a few sweet, simple kisses. They were fulfilling, though the brightness they gave him may have come from Debora in general - she was a bright light in his dark life. He wonders what it would be like to kiss someone like Buddy and Darling kissed each other, to feel as intensely as they did. He wonders if kissing one of them would awaken that hunger, if it was something contagious, spread by touch. He wondered what it would be like to kiss the lipstick off of Darling’s lips, to make them shiny and bright again. He feels a strange tightness in the pit of his stomach.

 

Baby had been driving for Doc since before puberty hit, and by the time it did he had more important things to worry about than sex. Debora had been the first person to really catch his attention, with her high, ethereal voice leading him to her like a beacon. But the more Baby thinks about how Darling and Buddy act around each other, the more he realizes his feelings for her were relatively tame, chaste. He fantasized about her, sure, but his fantasies were simple kisses, were about them and music and togetherness on the road, more than about fucking her. He loved her, or at least wanted to love her, the way love was in the movies his mom had always watched, the ones he hadn’t been able to touch since she died. Had he really  _ wanted _ Debora, or just wanted what she represented? A free life, a light in the dark, a song in the silence. Being with her had been like watching those movies again, only without the sadness.

 

Thinking about this is making his head and his heart heavy. He doesn’t realize how hard he’s frowning, how serious his face is, until Darling shocks him out of his head with a loud ‘earth to Baby!’ and a few snaps in front of his face. He stops staring at the space Darling had once occupied, looks up to see Buddy has returned.

 

“Good to go.” Buddy says to him, giving Darling a quick kiss. They walk into the opulent building, which is just as blindingly postmodern as the outside.

 

* * *

 

The room Buddy got for them, Baby is dismayed to find, is a honeymoon suite, complete with all the trappings one would expect from the name. Everything is red, covered in roses and velvet; the bed, which takes up most of the room and looks large enough for at least four people, is in the shape of a heart. There isn’t much room for other furniture, just a dresser whose surface is occupied by a tv, a few small tables taken by vases, and a surprisingly well furnished kitchenette.

 

Both Baby and Darling turn to Buddy with twin looks of ‘are you serious’ on their faces.

 

“What, this is the kind of room we always get!” Buddy says in his defense.

 

“Yeah, when we’re  _ honeymooning _ . How’d you explain Baby?” Darling frowns at Buddy, but Baby can tell it’s not entirely a real frown, which confuses him.

 

“Well, if anyone asks, he’s the third, unmarried member of our polyamorous triad.” Buddy says to them, his face completely serious. Darling stares back, unimpressed. Buddy waits for a beat, then continues with a grin, “But not one will ask, because A. this is Vegas, and B. I asked them to stay away from our room, except for room service. Speaking of which, we’re getting a free bottle of champagne soon, I told them we  _ are _ honeymooning.”

 

“You’re an idiot.” Darling says, half annoyed and half affectionate, swaying her hips as she moves towards him.

 

“Your idiot.” Buddy replies, going in for a kiss.

 

Baby stares at them while they kiss, for once not feeling the urge to look away. It’s a relatively tame kiss, for them, but he still feels that strange coiling in his belly. After a minute, he looks around. If there had been any other furniture in the room, he would sleep there, but there isn’t, other than some slightly cushioned chairs at the table. And frankly, he doesn’t want to sleep on that floor - at least in hotels, bed sheets get changed, but germs can sink into the roots of carpets and he doesn’t want to think about the kind of germs that are built up in this room’s floor. Not that the two in front of him are making it easy to  _ not _ think about that sort of thing. It looks like he’ll have to share the bed. At least it’s big enough that he can stay on one side and still not be anywhere near them.

 

“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” Baby asks loudly.

 

Buddy reluctantly pulls away from his wife to answer. “We’ll be here a couple of days, actually. The people I’ve got business with won’t be free until the day after tomorrow, since the meeting was set up before the job went bust.”

 

“Will we be safe here that long?” Baby asks. 

 

“Absolutely.  _ If _ anyone’s even looking for us. Personally, I think Doc’s overreacting - we left behind a pile of dead bodies with no way to identify  _ us _ as the killers. They’ll be looking for someone to blame, sure, but I betcha Doc’s gonna find a way to set Bats up as the fall guy, ‘specially since he’s dead anyway. Besides, by the time they start looking outside of Georgia we’ll have settled into California.”

 

“Buddy, that was supposed to be a surprise!” Darling says, hitting his arm.

 

“What’s in California?” Baby asks.

 

“Disneyland.” Buddy says seriously, then laughs at the sour look Baby gives him. “Nah, kidding. A safe house.” 

 

Baby nods at him, then sits down on the bed. The sheets are absurdly soft, and he ends up preoccupied with stroking them. Buddy and Darling talk about something, but between the music and the sheets Baby isn’t paying attention. It doesn’t seem to concern him, anyway. They only get his attention to tell him that they’re heading out, and to maybe not leave the room.

 

“I’ve never been to Disney.” Baby muses out loud, too late for the conversation that his brain only really just processed.

 

“Oh, now we  _ have _ to go.” Darling says, poking her head out from the bathroom. “That is a  _ travesty _ .”

 

“We don’t exactly look like Disney people, doll. And security is tight there.” Buddy replies from where he’s leaning against the kitchen counter, waiting for her. It hadn’t taken either of them long to change into fresh clothes, party clothes, apparently, but Darling still had to do her makeup all over again to match.

 

“We can use disguises.” Darling waves her hands dismissively. “I know  _ you _ clean up nice.”

 

“Every time I clean up for something not crime related, I end up getting punched in the face.” Buddy deadpans.

 

“Yes, it’s a very nice look for you, you should do it more often.” Darling says, exiting the bathroom. Baby’s not sure if she’s being serious.

 

She’s wearing a maroon cocktail dress. It’s not skin tight, but it has a slit on one side that exposes her thigh even more than it already has. Baby isn’t sure if he wants to touch the fabric or her leg more; they both look equally soft. Buddy pulls her into an embrace, swats her butt lightly, which makes her giggle. 

 

“Later, Babes.” she says to Baby, wiggling her fingers at him as she pulls Buddy to the door. Buddy nods a goodbye at him. 

 

The room is quiet once they leave.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch me on tumblr @echomoon for updates on how the new chapters are doing or to see me freaking out about fictional characters


	5. Hush Darling - Gregory Isaacs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello friends, sorry this took so long, life had been hell. good news, the entire fic is written out, i just need to type it and get it beta'd. bad news, still gonna take a while because typing things up is Literally The Worst. i'll try and get the next one up within the next week tho! hope u like this! and once again, you can find me @ echomoon.tumblr.com for updates on where im at with this stuff.

The first few days at the hotel are uneventful. Baby spends his nights sleeping and his days wandering; Darling and Buddy, on the other hand, did the opposite. The first night, Baby falls asleep alone, and wakes up the next morning to find the couple only just getting back. They’re bright eyed and raucous - drunk, at the very least, and probably high as well.

 

Baby takes a key card from the pocket of Buddy’s pants, which he had discarded almost immediately upon entering the room, and left  to go wander now that it’s daytime. Even though it's early morning, the city is still as bright and busy as it had been when they drove in, through the dazzling lights were dulled in the sunlight. He mostly wandered the streets around the hotel, both taking in the sights and taking note of possible escape routes, but also makes a stop at an overpriced tourist trap of a store to get a new pair of sunglasses, since he had only grabbed part of his collection when packing, and wanted to stock back up. With no cars to hijack, in the name of laying low, he had to resort to actually buying them. He also impulsively bought a set of couples’ sunglasses, Minnie and Mickey themed, for Darling and Buddy; they may not need sunglasses like he did, but as soon as he saw the glasses he felt like getting them a present, and thought they might find the theme funny after their conversation about Disney.

 

When he gets back to the room, they’re still asleep. Buddy is strewn across the bed on his stomach, a sheet haphazardly covering the curve of his ass and part of his legs.  Darling is on her side, curled up into Buddy, using his arm as a pillow. The blanket covered most of her bottom half as well, with just her toes peeking out from underneath, but only her arms covered her chest, leaving the undersides of her breasts exposed. Baby stares at them, caught up in the sight of them - it was about as much of their bodies as he had ever seen before, maybe a bit more in the case of Buddy, but something about the sight was enthralling. He stares at the soft curves of Darling’s figure, her smooth and soft looking skin, and remembers the feeling of her curled up against him like that; he stares at the hard, strong lines of Buddy’s back, the curve of his arms, and remembers the few times Buddy has touched him, shown him physical affection, quick gestures; he suddenly has to fight the urge to crawl between them, the feel the warmth of their bodies enveloping his.

 

Buddy shifts in his sleep and Baby bolts to the bathroom. He turns the shower on for noise and ends up just staring at his reflection in the mirror until it's too fogged up to show anything.

 

* * *

 

 

Darling and Buddy wake up in the late afternoon and stay out all night again. Baby is made lonely by it, used to spending most of his time with at least one other person. The loneliness makes him miss Joseph, makes him think about how he had basically abandoned him, makes him hope that he’s doing well at the place Doc had set up for him. Doc hadn't told him the name of the place; he decides that as soon as they are clear to contact Doc again, he will, to get an update on his foster father.

 

He ends up flipping through channels on the TV, which has more programs than his old one had ever gotten, not really focusing on the screen but welcoming it as a mindless distraction and background noise. He watches the screen without processing the story, wishing he had his recording equipment so that he could at least be doing something productive. He had brought along a few of his tapes, the most important ones and the mixes he liked best, and also a few blank ones to record with if he got a chance, but nothing else.

 

His companions return to the room earlier that night, still as permeated with their drunken revelry and showing off a neat new bundle of cash, their spoils from a night of gambling. They crash through the door with cheer, startling Baby, who is half asleep on the end of the bed. He shoots up, tries to scramble out of the bed in a panicked flight or fight response, but only manages to tangle his feet in the sheet and fall over. By then, his sleep addled brain realizes that the noise isn't a threat. They laugh at him, though Darling tries to apologize with a sloppy kiss on the cheek, which ends up catching the side of his mouth. It's more spit than lips, but it still leaves Baby tinged red and feeling tingly.

 

Baby is confused about why they’re back so early when he catches sight of the clock - it's only just past 3 am - but doesn't want to ask, feeling like it would be intruding somehow. With the  couple getting ready for bed, Baby settles into an uneasy sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

The interruption makes him sleep in late, til early afternoon. Darling is still asleep across the bed from him, but she’s alone. He spends the time it takes to fully wake up watching her sleep. When he rolls out of bed, he notices Buddy in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee. The man nods at him as he blearily stumbles to the bathroom.

 

It turns out that Buddy’s meeting is later that night, around dinnertime, and Buddy will be going alone, leaving Baby and Darling together for the day, which is how Baby ends up getting dragged around the city by an enthusiastic Darling.  She takes him into high end shops, full of things he could never even dream of affording, has him watch her try on things she doesn’t need. It makes his head whirl; he’s used to Goodwills and thrift shops, to only buying new things when the old ones are falling apart - the most he ever splurged on was music, the records and equipment. What was the point of spending so much on baubles and clothes that would only be worn once or twice? But Darling seemed to enjoy being surrounded by opulence, in flaunting her wealth, and that was the whole point of this excursion. He grows less reluctant as time passes, pleased at Darling’s happiness.

 

But for all that Darling wanted high end material goods, when they stop for dinner she leads him straight to a run down looking hole in the wall restaurant that looks more like a front for criminal activity than an actually functional restaurant.

 

Darling laughs at him when he expresses this thought. “Oh, it’s definitely a front for something, Babes, but it’s also got the best Mexican food in town and mama’s been craving that something fierce. I’m getting sick of Italian and fucking, caviar and tiny helpings shit that Buddy loves so much.”

 

Baby lets her order for him, at her insistence. He watches her interact with the staff, speaking rapid fire Spanish; the interactions makes her look content, the food doubly so.

 

* * *

 

 

The walk back to hotel is full of groaning and protesting full stomachs, but the aftereffects of a good full meal have mostly passed but the time they reach the lobby. Instead of heading up to their room, Darling pauses at a poster on the wall, advertising a karaoke night  at one of the hotel’s bars.

 

“Hey Baby, you like music,” she says, her voice enticing.

 

“No.” He replies, immediately catching on to what she wants to do. Karaoke bars are not music, they’re drunk people destroying perfectly good songs.

 

“Great, we’re going.” She grabs him by the wrist.

 

“Darling…” he groans at her, but follows her anyway. He’s been having fun today, all things considered, and doesn’t want the day to end with an unsmiling Darling.

 

“Don’t be a baby, Baby. It’ll be fun.”

 

When they get there, there’s already some poor fool fumbling an 80’s power ballad. It’s distraction enough that he doesn’t notice until too late that Darling’s signed _both_ of them up to sing - and Baby’s first. She’s also ordered a round of shots, and she hands one to him.

 

He glares, annoyed, “I don’t drink.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I’m the driver.” His usual excuse.

 

“You’re not driving tonight, Baby. Live it up.”

 

He wants her approval, doesn’t like the sting her disappointed tone is giving him. He stares at her, with her faux pout and wide eyes and proffered drink, and sighs. When he takes the glass a smile blooms across her face; she cheers when he downs it. Its disgusting, burns his throat on the way down and makes him cough, but it’s worth it to have her smiling at him.

 

She coerces him into a few more drinks, another shot and then a lighter drink that he only sips at when she’s looking, but it’s enough to make him feel warm and giggly. He had only ever drunk alcohol a few times, mostly sipping weak beers and never finishing them, so he wasn’t expecting the headiness of hard liquor. It's strange, how it makes him feel so heavy but also so light. Darling had quickly outpaced him with the shots, and her cheerful laugh at him is as clear as a bell even over the noise of terrible singing. She’s the brightest thing in the room, the only thing Baby can focus on. And she’s giving him most of her attention, which has him floating even more that the alcohol. She’s even more affectionate drunk, though her words still have plenty of bite. He drinks in her presence as much as she drinks in her liquor, letting her overwhelm him.

 

And then suddenly someone on stage is announcing that it’s Baby’s turn to sing, showing a title card for some ridiculous pop song that Darling must’ve chosen for him. When he gets up to the stage he leans close to the announcer, probably closer that necessary, but a drunk Baby is a Baby with minimal concept of personal space, and asks if he can change the song. When given the go-ahead, he slips the songbook open to a random page. His eyes fall on the name of a song that’s perfect. Joseph had occasionally played it, so he thinks he can remember the lyrics well enough.

 

The opening notes of ‘Hush, Darling’ begin, the title displayed for all to see. Baby starts to sing with a view of Darling laughing and he wishes he was close enough to hear her. The drunk audience is pretty receptive to his not terrible voice; or well, at the very least no one is booing at him. The experience isn't the worst thing ever. There's applause when he’s done, but all he cares about is what Darling thought.

 

Her turn is announced, and they pass each other on the way to and from the stage. She runs her hand down his arm as they pass. Baby feels bubbly. He's settling into his seat when the opening notes of ‘Easy’ begin; his stomach drops.

 

Darling has a beautiful voice; this is something he already knew. But the beautiful voice plus the song he only listens to when there's nothing else to keep him from spiraling plus his drunken emotions equals a Baby who starts crying when the chorus drops. It's not loud crying - he’s always been good at silent tears, had it stomped into him by his dad - but it's visible. Darling’s smile falls, she throws him worried glances between playing the crowd. He gets up to leave but the exit is by the stage, so by the time he gets out the doors Darling is done with her song and heading towards him.

 

She grabs him by the arm, hard enough to shock him back into the world, locks their elbows together. They walk for a bit in silence, until she finds an alcove to pull him into. By then, his tears have dried, but his face is still showing the signs.

 

He leans against the wall, lays his head back. Darling stands in front of him, close enough that he can feel the heat of her body, far enough that they're barely brushing. She just looks at him, serious, concerned. Baby stares back, will himself off the edge of not quite calm, her presence an anchor. His reaction was more shock and alcohol than real emotion, but it was enough to make his heart wild and achey.

 

“That was the last song my mom sang to me before she died.” Baby says quietly, not looking at Darling. “She would always sing it to comfort me.”

 

“Sorry for bringing up bad memories.” Darling replies. She brings a hand up to his face, strokes his cheek.

 

“Not bad, just unexpected.” He says. She smiles at him when he repeats her gesture.

 

“When I was little, my sister took care of me... there was this one lullaby she was always singing...” Darling trails off, looking fond and sad. “Do you want to hear it?”

 

Baby nods.

 

Darling starts to sing in Spanish, low and rhythmic. Her hands move from his cheek to his hair, running her fingers through it. Baby loosely wraps his arms around her, taking the comfort of her closeness while he can. She doesn't pull away from him when she finished, but rests her head on his shoulder and her arms around his neck. He realizes that without the heels she would barely come up to his chest and smiles.

 

“Let's head back to the room.” Darling suggests after a while, pulling away and taking his hand.

 

* * *

 

 

When they get back to the room, Baby remembers that he’d brought his tapes up with him, not trusting the environment enough to leave them in the car. He scurries to his bag to pull it out, presents it to Darling with a grin.

 

“What’s this?” she asks, turning the cassette over in her hands.

 

“A recording of the song.” Baby replies. “Of my mom singing it, I mean. You shared yours with me…”

 

“I’m honored, Babes.” Darling smiles. She presses her hand against his chest. “But how are we gonna listen to it? Most places barely carry CD players, these days.”

 

“Oh, um,” he pats his pockets, finding and pulling out his tape recorder, “I’ve got this.”

 

Darling stills. She moves her hand from his chest to his wrist, grips it tight as she speaks, her voice dangerous. “You carry around a tape recorder?”

“Yes?” he responds, confused at first, but then realizes the problem. “Wait. Shit, I can explain -”

 

“Yeah, Baby, you’re gonna.” Darling says. Her nails dig into his skin. “But since Buddy’s coming back soon, I think we better wait for him, don’t you?”

 

Baby tries to get free but can’t break her grip; she smiles at him in a way that’s more like baring teeth. She's exactly the kind of person who would literally tear out his throat if she wanted to, Baby realizes with a situationally inappropriate thrill. He nods slowly.

 

“Use your words.” She commands.

 

“Yes ma’am,” he replies, not meeting her eyes.

 

“Good boy.” She pats his head, and then goes about tying him up to one of the kitchen chairs.


	6. Corners - Tha Los

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO FRENS I AM RETURN sorry this took so long the list of excuses is long and includes: hurricane, sick, work, stress, etc. finally its here i love you all thank you for the comments and thank you for being so patient. good news one more chapter left!!! double good news the movie will be on dvd soon!!! im hopeing it inspires me to write more for this fandom but if not at least this fic is complete and not abandoned!! i hope you like this <3 (ps yes it says 8 chapters now but the 8th is gonna be the playlist actually)

Baby’s been tied up for half an hour by the time Buddy finally gets home. Only one of his arms is tied - Darling trusted him enough to believe that he wouldn’t break his word when he promised not to try anything if she only tied up one arm - and he’s using the other to rest his head. The alcohol wearing off had given him a headache, but strangely enough he’s still feeling that dizzy heaviness of being drunk. Darling had been mostly silent while they waited, messing around in the kitchen, close enough to be there in a flash if he did try anything. Baby had considered straining to see what she was doing, but Darling had told him not to move, so he was still.

 

Buddy walks in the door and throws his jacket on the bed; he sits down on the edge to take off his shoes, pausing halfway through when he looks up and notices the situation.

 

“What’s this?” He asks with a strange look on his face.

 

Darling moves out of the kitchen towards her husband. She’s shaking her head as she moves within Baby’s view, which makes Buddy’s expression go serious.

 

“Do I get to explain now?” Baby asks before she can say anything.

 

“Explain  _ what _ ,” Buddy says.

 

“Baby’s been carrying around a tape recorder,” Darling says tightly.

 

“Has he now,” Buddy says, dark and tense, looking like the only thing keeping him sitting down is Darling’s hand on his shoulder.

 

“It's just me foolin’ around, I like to record stuff.” He stops for a second, not sure about revealing his hobby to them but knowing he’ll have to. “I like to listen back to conversations, I make - music out of the words, songs, mixes.”

 

“The  _ fuck _ you do.” Buddy looks annoyed, disbelieving. 

 

Darling runs her hand over her face, looking like she can’t believe Baby’s admission either, but she’s more willing to believe it. “Why would he lie, though? It’s a fucking dumbass excuse, but Baby hasn’t lied to us before, have you Baby?”

 

Baby shakes his head, but Buddy says, “Not saying shit doesn't mean not lying.”

 

“I’ve got some of my mixtapes with me. In my bag,” Baby says, desperate for them to believe him.

 

Buddy grabs the bag from the corner of the room, dumps the contents out over the bed. He grabs a tape at random, puts it into the recorder that Darling hands him.

 

A frantic beat, almost video game-esque, plays out loudly; a conversation between Doc and a crew member from a few heists back skipping out over the beat. It’s ‘Super Sonic’, one of his older tapes. Neither of his companions had been part of the crew roster yet, but Doc’s voice is recognizable. Buddy looks baffled; Darling bursts out laughing.

 

“You’re fucking weird, kid.” Buddy says, and goes to untie him - Darling takes a while longer to finish laughing; when she finally stops enough to talk, Baby is free and rubbing his wrist, slightly hurt at the reactions. It’s not his best work, sure, but was it really bad enough to laugh at?

 

“This shit’s fucking bananas, Babes. You ever make one with us?”

 

“No,” Baby replies, getting flashes of what he could do with their voices - while he usually works off phrase first, he’s got ideas for the tones of the songs that would work with how they sound.

 

“Well, we’ll have to give you some sound bites,” she replies, and kisses him on the cheek. She turns to Buddy expectantly.

 

“What?”

 

“Kiss and make up,” she says, teasing. “I did.”

 

Buddy rolls his eyes at her antics, pecks Baby’s cheek slowly. “Happy?”

 

“Very,” she says, and kisses him. “Now, how did the meeting go?”

 

Baby tunes out their business talk, not feeling the need to know. He lets their voices wash over him, touches the cheek they had both kissed. He feels electrified.

 

* * *

 

Baby dreams a hazy scene. He dreams of two sets of hands, one smooth and one rough, running up and down his body, leaving trails of fire. He dreams of a stubbly face pressed against his, of soft lips trailing down his stomach.

 

He wakes up with a boner.

 

This isn't unusual, though the fading sex dream is, and it wouldn't be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that his companions weren't already awake and lounging in front of the area he needed to pass through to get to the bathroom and get rid of it. He tries to collect himself, to will it away, but to his embarrassment it doesn’t. He adjusts himself under the sheets, hopes it’s hidden enough, and hesitantly makes his way past the others. Buddy gives him a nod, Darling a sleepy smile, as he passes, so he counts it a success.

 

But it only lasts until they’re on their way out of the hotel, when Darling lightly hip checks him and says, “So, Baby, have a good dream last night?” with a wink and a grin.

 

Baby turns scarlet, and Darling giggles at him then quickens her pace a little to fall in line with Buddy a few feet ahead of them.

 

* * *

 

 

The drive to California is only 6 hours long, barely a fraction of the first leg of the trip. Driving is split evenly between them, first Buddy, then Baby, then Darling; nothing unusual or eventful happens.

 

They had left Vegas early enough that it’s only just starting to get dark when they reach their destination - a beach house on the outskirts of San Diego, semi secluded in that there was more than enough distance between the neighboring houses to give them privacy. The house is a bit dusty, the decor slightly dated, but it’s still opulent and eye catching.

 

Baby’s given a bedroom off by the kitchen. The entrance dips into the ground, like a fake lower level, and is dark and cool. He sits on the bottom of a set of bunk beds, unattended while the other two get their luggage out of the car. They’ll be in the master bedroom, he guesses, but where that is he isn’t sure, because the long hallway between the entrance and kitchen and this room was only one of many that he could see from the entrance. The room is isolated enough that he can’t hear any noise from the outside. He goes to the kitchen and opens a window, hears the noise of seagulls outside on the beach, decides that he should buy a swimsuit. Swimming in the ocean would be a new experience; what would the seagull noise sound like under the water? He itches to explore, tries to sate it by looking around the house instead.

 

The kitchen is bare of food - he starts to mentally compile a grocery list and has to start over when he catches himself adding Joseph’s staple foods first, then realizes he doesn’t know much about what the others like to eat, other than ‘expensive things’, probably. He wanders out back to the entrance and finds Darling lounging on the couch and Buddy pacing the room. They’re talking about updating the electronics; he waits for a lull in the conversation before interrupting.

 

“We need groceries.” He looks at the space beside Buddy’s head rather than directly at either of them.

 

“Oh, true,” Darling says, pointing her finger at him like he’s said something genius.

 

Buddy pulls out his wallet and tosses it to Baby, who fumbles but manages to not drop it. “You two go into town, I’m gonna look up a cleaning service.”

 

“Wouldn’t that  _ not _ help with the lying low?” Baby wonders.

 

Buddy waves away the worry, lumbers to the other couch. “Not really. This is the absurdly rich part of town, it would just be a normal day for anyone involved.”

 

“And we can afford a more high end, discreet service,” Darling says, then, “Ooh, hire one of those ones with the cute girls in little maid outfits.”

 

“How about I buy  _ you _ a little maid outfit and you can just pretend to clean?” Buddy leers.

 

“No,” she pouts, “I want to watch someone else in it. Oh, I know, Baby can wear it!” she laughs.

 

Baby feels a flash of red hot irritation at her teasing, feels like she somehow knows about his dream and his complicated feelings towards them and is using it against him. Is making fun of him a friendship thing, or does she just like being mean? He scowls at her.

 

“Groceries,” he bites out, and stalks to the door.

 

He hears one of them say something behind him but can’t quite make out what it is; he doesn’t ask Darling for the words as they head out. In fact, he stays grumpy at her the whole trip, though if it affects her she doesn't let it show. She dances around him, tries to replace the actual food with junky snacks in a fake sneaky way. Her antics falter a bit when after a while she still can't get Baby to smile, but she keeps it up anyway, if at a more subdued pace, until they get home. Baby unpacks the groceries alone. 

 

He feels angry at nothing in particular - he knows he wasn't really all that angry with Darling to begin with, but once he got started he couldn't  _ stop _ and his mood spiraled down out of his control. He ends up sitting outside on the back deck, furious with the world and himself and feeling terribly lonely, a hole in his chest aching simultaneously to reach out for someone else and to scream at everyone who so much at looks at him. 

 

He’s not sure how long he spends sitting out there fuming, tense and scrunched up, but after a while of nothing but dark sky and the void of his thoughts, someone suddenly sits next to him.

 

“You doin’ okay, Baby?” Buddy asks, his voice as awkward as it’d been the last time he asked that.

 

“Been better,” Baby replies, lolling his head back. Buddy pats him on the shoulder; they sit in a companionable silence, staring into the dark horizon.

 

“You’re not very good at feelings, are you,” Baby says, more statement than question.

 

“I’m better than Monica. You so much as  _ say _ the word feelings around her and she bolts.” Buddy laughs. Then, “You've got her worried, you know. Both of us, actually.”

 

Baby nods at him. “My brain’s being kind of shit.”

 

“I get that.”

 

They’re quiet again for another while, and then:

 

“I like you guys more than I thought I would,” Baby says, feeling candid, knowing Buddy won't know the true depth of that ‘like’.

 

“Thanks, I guess,” Buddy says with a small smile. “Why’d you come with us in the first place, if you thought you wouldn't like us?”

 

Baby shrugs. “Was you or Doc.”

 

“Aren't you Doc’s golden boy?”

 

“Only because I had to be,” Baby admits, then turns back to the horizon, regretting the admission.

 

“...Right,” Buddy says. He stands up with a grunt. “Well, that's enough emotions for the day.”

 

Baby stands up too, suddenly tired of being outside, suddenly feeling somehow marginally better.

 

“You want a beer?” Buddy asks as they walk into the kitchen, pulling one out for himself.

 

Baby shakes his head. “Gonna go to bed.”

 

Buddy nods, then suddenly pulls him into a tight, short hug.

 

“Night kid,” he says gruffly, then escapes the kitchen, leaving Baby alone.

 

Baby smiles.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch me @ echomoon.tumblr.com


	7. Symphony (Beau Collins Remix) ft Zara Larsson by Clean Bandit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE MADE IT ITS THE LAST CHAPTER ITS FINLLY HERE  
> hello friends im sorry this took so long, life got shit and then i lost the hard copy of this chapter and only jsut found it again to type it back up. i hope everyone likes it!!!!!!!

Things in the house are static for a while. It takes a few days for Baby’s mood to restabilize; he spends most of  those days moping alone in his room or on the porch. Darling splits her time between sunning herself on the beach and watching tv, with occasional breaks for drugs, drinking, and fucking Buddy - who is the busiest of the three, getting the house back in shape and calling people at all hours of the day, with, of course, breaks for the same vices.

 

When Baby finally breaks out of his funk, his first thought is to find Darling. His second is that he needs to start mapping the roads and escape routes in case anyone finds them. He decides to do both.

 

He finds Darling on the beach. Her skin has taken on more of a tan since they got there, looking somehow more golden and soft. Baby crouches next to her, barefoot and not wanting to sit and get sand in his jeans, a mistake he had made one of the first days.

 

“How you feelin’, Baby?” she asks before he can tap her shoulder, pushing herself up to lean on her arms.

 

“Better. Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine, Babes. We all got shit brains, shit happens. Whats up?”

 

“Need to get a feel for the roads. Maybe go into town.”

 

“Jason’s got the keys hanging up by the door, just grab ‘em.” She says, laying back down.

 

Baby takes a minute to hype himself up, feeling weirdly self conscious about his request. His pause, non movement, is odd enough to her that she cracks an eye back open to look at him, and he takes the opportunity to say, “Wanna be company?”

 

She grins wide at him, blindingly, and all but jumps up.

 

* * *

 

Later that night Baby finds himself staring at the ceiling, as memorized as it could be from staring at it night before, unable to sleep. He feels simultaneously full of energy and completely exhausted, wants to sleep, but his body is too… taut, too wanting to be busy. He feels himself slipping back into a dark mood. He decides to get out of bed, since laying down is useless, and grabs a glass of water before wandering the house. Its seems somehow larger at night, the darkness feeding the illusion.

 

He pauses in front of Buddy and Darling’s room after the second pass, caught up in sudden memories of sharing a bed with them. Even at the second hotel, when there was a huge space between them, there was something comforting about being so close to another person. Maybe that's what has staved off his black mood before. He wavers before the door, hand twitching to open the door but worrying what their response would be to a non forced sharing request. Just as he's about the chicken out, the door opens.

 

Buddy stops short of bumping into him, clutches his chest. “Jesus fuck, Baby.”

 

“Sorry.” Baby whispers.

 

“Why the lurking? You scared the shit out of me.”

 

“Couldn't sleep.”

 

“Join the club.” Buddy starts walking down the hall; Baby quietly follows.

 

“You my shadow now?”

 

Baby shrugs, watches the man grab and fill two cups with liquor. He leans against the counter with one in his hand and Baby stares at his bare chest. Buddy seems to think he’s staring at the glass, because he says,

 

“Want one?”

 

Baby considers. Maybe it will help him sleep. “....Sure.”

 

Buddy flashes him a smile. “I’ll water it down for you, lightweight.”

 

* * *

 

Baby still shadows Buddy when they leave the kitchen, not completely sure why, nursing the drink with tiny sips. Buddy stops at the door to his room, nudges it open with his hip.

 

“Night.” He says to Baby, who’s overtaken with a sudden panic to say what he had come to their door to ask in the first place.

 

“Wait-” Baby bursts out, stops long enough for Buddy to raise a questioning eyebrow at him, then blurts in a rush, “CanIsleepwithyouguystonight?”

 

“What?” Buddy asks, but as Baby embarrassedly goes to repeat himself slower says, “Uh. Yeah. Why not.”

 

Baby is flooded with relief.

 

As he enters the room, Buddy says, “Better make yourself decent, Monica, we have a guest for the night.”

 

“Do we now?” Darling purrs, “What kind of guest?”

 

Baby walks in to see her lounging on the bed, covered only in the thin sheet. It clings to her enough, is thin enough, that he can see her curves; he swallows, looks at Buddy instead, but it's’ only barely more bearable. Buddy hands her a glass them moves to the closet and starts rummaging.

 

“The sleeping kind.” He says.

 

“Clothes are the worst. Do you really mind, Baby?” Darling whines, staring at him with sultry eyes.

 

Baby gets tongue tied imagining sleeping in the same bed as a naked Darling, imagining her clinging to him the way she had the other nights they shared a bed, in that state.

 

Buddy throws a skimpy lace night dress at her head. “Clothes, Mon.”

 

“Spoilsport.” she says, but emerges from beneath the sheets as decent as she can be moments later. She pats the bed beside her, a gesture for Baby to come over. “What up, Babes?”

 

“Couldn’t sleep.” he mumbles into his glass, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

 

Darling scoots closer to him, lets the sheet fall away. She lays herself across his lap, head against his thigh. “Aww, did you miss sleeping with us?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She laughs, props herself up to kiss his cheek. “You’re so cute. C’mere.”

 

She takes his glass and sets it on the bedside table, then arranges Baby on the bed so that he’s laying down. He doesn’t mind her manhandling, lets her do whatever she wants - he likes her enough that he’d let her do anything if it made her happy. When she’s done, she settles back down across his chest.

 

He drowses off to the sound of her breathing, comforted by the pressure; he barely shifts when Buddy joins them, pressing against Darling’s back and throwing an arm over the both of them.

 

* * *

 

Baby wakes in the morning feeling, for once since they got here, content, and also overly warm. As he wakes, he realizes he had somehow ended up between Darling and Buddy during the night. Buddy is practically pasted to him, a warm human wall, and against his back Darling clings to him like an octopus. He wiggles himself out of their grasp, down and out of the bed, and once free quietly makes his way to his own room.

 

He shows up at their door again that night.

 

* * *

 

Over the next few weeks, they settle into a routine. Half their day is spent seperated, doing their own activities, but the other half is spent together, at meals and gathering in the living room and sharing the bed at night. Somehow, every other night becomes a movie night - Baby learns that Darling prefers mindless action movies, that Buddy has a fondness for bad sci-fi; they learn Baby likes old movies, especially musicals. Darling almost always orders out when it’s her turn to cook, but Buddy is fairly skilled in the kitchen; Baby is best at cold foods and things that require a microwave. He and Buddy take to sitting out on the back porch at night, sometimes talking and sometimes just watching the waves; Darling hates being cooped up and tends to drag one or both of them on adventures, either into town or exploring the wilderness nearby. 

 

And of course, Darling and Buddy occasionally wander off to have sex or get high, which Baby had accidently walked into enough times that he has the images of their naked bodies seared into his mind - not that he’s complaining. It makes hiding his pining, and his growing attraction to them, difficult, sometimes makes him have more steamy dreams of them. He ends up glad at his habit of early rising, sneaking out of their bed easily enough to hide his reactions; he worries that if they realized he would have to give up sharing their bed.

 

He’s also glad that the beaches around their house are private, or else the two would’ve gotten arrested for public indecency by now.

 

* * *

 

It had been a slow day for them, spend mostly in radius of each other. Darling, probably from boredom, had been playing coquette with Buddy all day, acting extra sexual to tease him but not actually letting him touch her. Instead, she lavished her affection on Baby, who was just as affected as the other man and spent most of the day bright red and having to excuse himself to his room to calm down.

 

The day ended with all of them on the couch together, watching a movie. Darling in the middle, clinging to Baby, Buddy on the other side, throwing them frustrated glances. The room felt charged, and no one payed much attention to the movie.

 

The end credits begin to roll and Baby starts thinking about what they should watch next, and suddenly Buddy is growling ‘enough!’ and pulling Darling off Baby.

 

But instead of pulling Darling to him, he leans across her, grabs Baby by the collar, and pulls him in close, into a searing kiss. Baby’s brain melts almost immediately; he just follows the motions of the other man’s lips, whines when he pulls away. Baby looks up at him with wide eyes.

 

“Baby, you are so fucking oblivious.” Buddy says.

 

“???” Baby replies.

 

“We’ve been trying to seduce you for weeks, sweet thing.” Darling drawls, putting one hand on Buddy’s leg and the other on Baby’s. She manuvers around Buddy, pulls Baby into another kiss, leaving him twice as muddled and basically floating.

 

When she stops, Baby holds his hands out, pushes them away from him, trying to get space to think. They both pull back without issue, wait patiently for him to process.

 

“What is this.” Baby says once the fog breaks.

 

“We like you, Baby,” Darling replies.

 

“Relationship like? Or sex like?”

 

“Started with just sex,” Darling shrugs, “but Baby, you sleep in our bed every night. We don’t let just anyone do that, even with people we’re fucking.”

 

“Oh,” Baby says, trying to figure out what to do with that information. Wait - “ Have we been dating this whole time?”

 

They laugh.

 

“Now that you say it, pretty much.” Buddy says, looking at Darling.

 

Baby thinks about his pining, his hiding his attraction, wishes he had known this from the start. But this - this meant they wanted him to stay for real, that their cohabitation didn’t have an expiration date. This meant keeping this bubble of happiness that had grown around them.

 

“Okay,” Baby says, then, “ Let’s go back to the kissing?”

 

They laugh again, and Buddy is still laughing when he leans in and starts to drive Baby wild. No one gets much else done that night. They barely make it to the bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Baby told them, one night, of his reluctance to stay in the crime life now that he had no debt, of his history with Doc, but also of his need to drive the way he did, the way it was still as much of an escape as it had been when he started. Neither wanted to give up their own life of crime just yet, but respected Baby’s wishes and promised to keep him safe from Doc. Luckily, they have enough contacts that they begin to follow their lifestyle through travelling, rather than stick with Doc and leave Baby in harm’s way. 

 

They grew even more dangerous in the crime world, had even more of a reputation, but more often than not Baby was left behind to explore the cities while they worked. It wasn’t a perfect resolution, and they all had their own issues to work the kinks out of, but it was enough. They were happy.


	8. Track List

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS A DOUBLE UPDATE  
> the actual chapter is hte chapter before!!! this one is jsut the soundtrack and notes!!

[Listen on 8Tracks](https://8tracks.com/echomoon/guard-you-guide-you)

[Download](http://www.mediafire.com/file/gc3czqa5wjufi5u/GYGY.zip)

** Track List **

1. Cherry - Chromatics

2\. In the City - Chromatics 

3\. Killer Queen - Queen

4\. Bulletproof (La Roux) vs. Release Me (Agnes) - The Outfit

6\. Hush Darling - Gregory Isaacs

7\. Corners - Tha Los

8\. Symphony (Beau Collins Remix) ft. Zara Larsson - Clean Bandit

9\. Lowlife - That Poppy

10\. Be The One - Dua Lipa

 

This has been a fun journey and I want to thank everyone for being a part of the ride. Your comments and kudos and support literally made it possible for me to finish this fic and I love all of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> catch me on tumblr @ echomoon


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